Of Closets and Mistletoe
by hbananad
Summary: In which Tifa and Aerith reminisce, and Yuffie takes things too far. Because mistletoe is always in season. Happy Valentines Day! Riku/Sora Metions of C/L/C


Happy Valentines Day!

I'm still looking for a Beta. Any takers?

And yes, this was finished with only an hour and a half of Valentines Day left to go where I live. BUT I MADE IT~

***##***

"Tiiiiiiiiifa~ I'm bored…" Yuffie slumped further into her chair, resting her chin on the table.

"Yuffie, how can you be bored? It's the day before Valentines day. You're usually abuzz with plans." Tifa responded, gathering mugs from the cabinet.

"…."

The older woman glanced over. "Yuffie? Something wrong?"

"… I have no ideas. I'm out. Finished. Drained. Kaput!" The ninja grew more animated as she continued talking. "I've tried everything! I've set them up on dates, blackma- _convinced_ teachers to pair them up for assignments, handcuffed them together… Nothing works!"

Tifa hummed thoughtfully as she puttered around making tea. "Who were you trying to get together this time?"

The slump returned. "Sora and Riku. It's soooooo obvious they love each other, but apparently, 'best friends' comes first. They're just not willing to admit it!"

A sigh. "Yuffie, perhaps they really weren't meant to be…?"

"ARE YOU KIDDING?! They're perfect for each other! And I've caught one or the other staring a few too many times for it to be coincidence."

"Caught who?" Interjected Aerith as she walked into the kitchen, carrying some of the flowers from her garden.

"Riku and Sora. They seem to be Yuffie's 'project' for this year…"

"I see…" The brunette filled a vase with water and started to arrange the pink, white, and red blooms. "I take it that's not going to well."

This earned a groan from the shortest person in the room. "It's going terribly. Even my last plan – which totally should have worked – failed."

"…. What plan would that be?" Tifa sounded like she **really** didn't want to know.

"Suffice to say it involved a rouge chocobo, a spatula, and some of the sappiest music known to man."

Aerith and Tifa exchanged a glance.

"Yuffie, sweetie, you might be making this a bit too complicated. Sometimes the simplest solutions will suffice…"

"Like with Cloud and Leon." Tifa smirked, seeing where Aerith was headed.

"What about them? They up and admitted they liked each other without any help from yours truly." Yuffie's pout was back.

Aerith giggled. "Do you really believe that? Two of the quietest, most secretive guys you'd ever meet, and they admitted it _just like that?"_

"Well, when you put it that way, no, not really…" She glanced between the other two girls, taking in their smiles. "Wait. What did you two do to them?"

"Oh, nothing much…. Just locked them in a closet together…" Tifa's smirk grew.

"And now it's nearly impossible to find one without the other!" Aerith finished.

Yuffie stared at them for a minute. It was kinda surprising. Sure, she could see Tifa messing with people, but _Aerith?_ That was a surprise.

But…

It just might work…

"Bye guys! I'm gonna go recruit Kairi!" The self-proclaimed ninja bolted out the door, overturning her chair in the process.

Aerith shook her head. "She forgot her tea…"

"Of course she did. She's Yuffie. Now… shall we make sure that Cloud and Leon's gift is ready?"

***##***

"I dunno, Yuffie. Are you sure this'll work?"

"Of course it will. Trust me, Kairi, I know what I'm doing."

"That's what you said last time. And the time before that, and the time before that, and the ti-"

"Okay, okay, I get it! Stop!"

"Fine. Is the door sturdy enough…?"

"Door's plenty solid, lock's not breakable, and best of all, _it's soundproof."_

"Looks like we found the perfect closet then…"

"Yep. So, Sora or Riku first?"

"Riku. Sora's much more gullible. It'll be less effort, and we can make sure Riku doesn't escape at the same time."

"Sounds good. What are we telling them again?"

"Geez, Yuffie, you made it up… Cid wants them to help carry stuff. Or something."

"Meh, I'm sure if we sound urgent enough, they'll come…"

Giggles echoed throughout the hallway as the girls went off to find their prey.

***##***

"Hey, Sora? Can you help me carry this for Cid?" Kairi to the box she'd just put down outside the door. "I got it this far, but he wants it in Merlin's house for some reason…"

Sora looked up from where he had been trying to get his stuff organized. Leon had handed him a back the Ansem reports to try and figure out if there were any patterns that related to some leftover heartless activity, and they had somehow been scattered everywhere.

"Sure." He shoved a few more papers into his bag and handed it to Kairi. "I'll get your thing if you carry this."

She grinned. "Deal."

The two friends walked to the closet, chattering about homework and tests.

Sora never noticed Yuffie sneak up behind him until she shoved him in the closet that Cid had apparently wanted the box in and locked the door behind him.

Giggling, the two girls ran off.

***##***

"Ow…." Riku winced as someone landed on top of him. He mentally cursed Yuffie for the thousandth time that day.

"Riku? Is that you?" Oh, fabulous. Not only did Yuffie lock him in a closet, she locked him in a closet with his best friend. The one he was in love with. Stupid ninja-wanna-be.

"Yes, Sora, it's me. Yuffie get you, to?"

"No. Well, I think she pushed me, but Kairi's the one who asked me to help her…." Sora sounded puzzled.

"Sora, you're far to nice for your own good." Riku shook his head, forgetting that the other couldn't see him.

"Yeah, well…. Wait, what'd they do to get you here…?"

"……."

"It's okay, Riku, you can tell me. I won't laugh.

"Fine. Yuffie blackmailed me."

"Yuffie has blackmail on you?"

"Yuffie has blackmail on everyone. Except possibly Aerith."

"Oh. Right."

An awkward silence fell as they both ran out of things to say. Sora eventually gave up supporting himself with his arms and collapsed onto Riku's chest instead.

There was no way of keeping track of time in the closet, but Riku thought it felt like hours. Far too long, in any case.

"Hey, Sora?" He hesitated. This probably wasn't the best time to ask, but…

"Hmmm?" The brunette had obviously nearly drifted off to sleep.

"Will you…. Will you be my valentine?" The elder blushed, suddenly grateful for the lack of illumination.

And yet, even without that illumination, he could _sense_ Sora's smile. "I was waiting for you to ask."

Riku sighed, relieved, and gently kissed his valentine on the forehead. "Thank goodness…"

The two drifted off to sleep, since they didn't really see any point in being awake while they waited for the girls to come back.

***##***

"…. Cloud?"

"Yeah?"

"Is that …?"

"Is wha- oh."

"A little out of season, don't you think?"

"They did add a heart, but yes, mistletoe is definitely out of season."

"… I give up trying to understand them."

"Always a wise choice. Happy Valentine's day, Leon."


End file.
